We all need help sometimes. The purpose of this
blog is SOLIDARITY - you can offer your help and
find others to help you. And it is also in your
hands that this MOGAN SOLIDARY NETWORK blog
becomes known - pass it on to your friends, please!
THANKS,Ana Rial Ybáñez.

Monday, August 31, 2009

I am happy to share with you how happy we are to see how this BLOG has been welcomed by so many people

I knew there were good people around the world and that we’d be found far and wide, and I was not mistaken. How nice!
The first day I sent it around I got 50 receipt notices back, messages of support from all around the world: Mogán, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Madrid, Sweden, Finland, Norway..... even phone calls to show more personal encouragement.
The third day I got an unexpected e-mail from my friend Sonia in Australia, asking how she could help from Down Under!
The blog has not yet been up a month and we’ve already been visited almost 400 times to date! Fantastic!!!! Thanks to you all, you have given me a shot of energy to continue on this project, with optimism and hope! .
But that is not all, a German volunteer surprised me with a lovely gift – he translated the blog to German so we could spread it around the German-speaking population, so they can also help out, and he sent the news to local German-language publications who have printed it. Mr. Pedro Kraus, THANK YOU!.

We liked the idea so much we are now translating the information to other languages, for now, to English and Swedish, also done by friendly volunteers and as soon as we have them ready, I’ll upload the links.

Many readers asked for a bank account where they could deposit donations. It took a while but we found a bank that won’t charge us banking fees, for our volunteer work and here it is: In the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM), Arguineguín branch office, account number:(IBAN ES62) 2090 5702 60 0040064235, in the name of the Asoc de Vecinos Las Lomas de Arguineguín.

We are also searching for supporters to help us by “sponsoring a product” of basic foodstuffs that we are distributing such as milk, eggs, bread, flour, rice, etc... If you are interested in helping us out, contact us in English and we will send you a list of the foodstuffs we are distributing (when we have funds to purchase them or they are donated to us). You can give us a one-time purchase or sponsor an item monthly, as you prefer. We are extremely grateful for all help!

So, who’ll jump in and help us out? In addition to our gratitude and smiles, we can also add your corporate image/logo to our blog to thank you publicly for your support.

As you can see, we are trying to make the blog generate income to supplement other funds by having adverts on it, and any funds collected will be also devoted to purchasing food.

My best regards and until we have more news, please be so kind as to keep forwarding this information to all your contacts.

We are going through a crisis, some of us are better off than others, we have jobs, a home to live in and food on our tables every day. Others are juggling to survive daily.

Who doesn’t know of families suffering financial difficulties? In the past, their members had good jobs, were able to pay their mortgages and had normal lives, maybe without great luxury, but without the stress of not knowing how to pay basic bills; able to enjoy an extra or two now and again. And suddenly there is one or more unemployed person in that family.

I’ve been thinking deeply about that could be done and how we could set up ways to help each other mutually, without having to wait for public administration to step in, as they, despite the work they are doing, are insufficient. Having been a civic volunteer for any years, I prefer to trust in GOOD PEOPLE like yourself, you who are reading this right now and might choose to help us out in this project. NOW DON’T GET WORRIED:
I’m only asking you to use your address book and forward this blog on to as many people as you can and ask them to do the same. We do this every day with jokes, videos and chain letters that offer us good and bad luck. Why not do the same for a solidarity project?
And should you decide to do more to help, even better! You’ll experience a great feeling!

My idea is to set up different headings for the types of help offered and needed: Food; Jobs; Time; Items in good condition; Help exchange; Barter; etc. But I am open to suggestions – I would like this to be a participative blog.

You can participate simply sharing your opinion by clicking
You can leave a comment with your offer of help. .NO HELP IS TOO SMALL!

You can also leave a comment if you feel this blog has helped you, and in this way encourage others to believe that solidarity does exist and can be given and taken and so that someone feels less ALONE.
Thanks for the time you have given us, by reading this far.

Food given by the Food Bank of Las Palmas/ European Union on July 27 (More than 600 kilos)

(Photo caption)

Donations of FOOD

A Food Distribution Project has already been set up in Arguineguín.
The idea came from the Asociación de Vecinos "Las Lomas de Arguineguín" (Neighbours Association) and several neighbours are in charge of this project, but there is never enough help, and there is a lot of need in the area. All the needed paperwork has been done so that this help is legal, (“there is even red tape when helping others....” Good thing that we have volunteers who are not easily frightened!) And help is coming in from the EUROPEAN UNION every few months!

Good-hearted people are also donating food such as pre-cooked foods, fruit and vegetables from their farms (bananas, potatoes, oranges) etc.... A recent charity concert brought in funds for nappies and baby food! Thanks to Elsa McTaggart and Beccy Owen and their families!

The distribution centre has three refrigerators, a freezer and little more. But there is a lot of will to help and energy to do so!
We are located at Calle Miguel Marrero nº 69 (the old teachers’ house, next to the kindergarten/guardería, across the street from the Jewellery shop El Carmen and market square taxi rank) in Arguineguín, on Tuesdays (and sometimes on Thursdays if we have food to distribute) between 6 and 8pm.

A suggestion from Las Lomas (see comment) Would you like to sponsor a food item? Milk, flour, rice .... ?
If you are a businessperson, you can get a good price for your food purchase, and you can even deduct it from your taxes..... !

Would you like to help out? FOOD DONATIONSSend us your comments and please don’t forget to add your contact details so we can answer you.

Miguel, Luci and Ramón are some of our volunteers, but there are many more that have yet to be caught on film. But we will get them sooner or later!

(photo caption)

3 Give the gift of time
Do you wish to help out? One hour of your time per week is a great gift!
You can help out at the food distribution centre: there are many things to do; people to be attended to; food to be unloaded from vehicles; boxes to be put into place and inventories to be made.... Fund-raising .......
For now that is a suggestion, there will most likely be more tasks required in future. And other projects coming up.

A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR TIME Send us a comment and please don’t forget to add your contact details so we can communicate with you!

Refrigerators, a freezer, shelves and a air-cooler donated by neighbours. Thanks so much!!

(Photo caption)

Gifts in good state

In the Solidary Food Distribution Centre that Las Lomas runs in Arguineguín, we only have got 3 refrigerators, a freezer and little more.
We could use more freezers and WE NEED SHELVES TO STORE THE FOOD, TABLES, BOARDS AND TRESTLES TO PLACE BOXES ON WHILE DISTRIBUTING THE FOOD, ETC.
There are also families who might need something that you no longer want and have kept in good condition. These things are still useful to someone – baby things, clothing, a play-pen, a mattress, a desk, so many things!
Before throwing anything out, give it to someone needy!

I was recently told that soon 50 families are going to be moving into their new social housing – I wonder if they have everything they need to set it up comfortably?

GIFTS IN GOOD STATE Send us a comment and please don’t forget to add your contact details so we can communicate with you!

If you run a business Have you got a job to offer ?
We encourage you to participate in this project:
Publish the vacant position in this blog and what kind of profile you are looking for. Anyone might see your advert and apply to you! This can be another way to find the right employee. PLEASE: ONLY JOB OFFERS, NO APPLICANTS....

JOB EXCHANGE Send us a comment and please don’t forget to add your contact details so we can communicate with you!

Are you a professional, in need of the services of another professional? For example, you are a plumber and need a mechanic to fix your car......

Or you need help a few hours a week with your children and in exchange can offer your help shopping or cleaning.
This could be your site to exchange help – and save, instead of spending money, exchange your knowledge for another’s skills.

Come one and participate in this project.
Send us what you need and what you can offer in exchange and we’ll publish it – anyone can see your advert and answer you.

HELP EXCHANGESend us a comment and please don’t forget to add your contact details so we can communicate with you!

Our account for donations is at the Banco Sabadell

IMPORTANTThe most important purpose of this blog is to find help - please, don't forget that the earliest entries contain all the explanations about how you can help out - scroll down a little and read them, please! Solidary regards to you!